By: Nick Powers | Fraser-Clinton Chronicle | Published January 20, 2025
FRASER — A special assessment district typically carries with it some unavoidable discomfort.
Rehabbing the roads in the Fraser Industrial Park is no exception. The long gestating project has had many stops and starts but, with a series of votes at the Jan. 9 Fraser City Council meeting, the project is on track to begin.
“It’s going to be inconvenient, but it’s going to get done and that is a huge thing,” Fraser Mayor Michael Lesich said at the meeting.
Construction in the park is set to start later in 2025 and will continue through 2026, according to Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick Vice President Michael Vigneron.
Businesses in the industrial park will cover 25% of the total project cost through the SAD, not to exceed $4 million.
There are 128 businesses included in the assessment roll. The property with the highest assessment is 17801 E. 14 Mile Road at $123,243. The lowest assessed property is 33690 Pompo Drive at $11,057. The average cost for businesses in the park is $41,403.58. Each business in the district would pay off the amount over a 15-year period. The assessment is done based on the front footage of a property.
The estimated total cost of the project is $16 million, according to City Manager Elaine Leven. In addition to the amount the businesses chip in, the state will pick up $4 million of the tab and the city will contribute about $3.5 million from its general fund. The remaining amount, about $4 million, would be paid for through a bond over a 15-year term.
Out of the 128 businesses, two protested the assessment of their property at the Jan. 9 meeting. In order for a business to get a reassessment or to be removed from the roll it needs to go before the Michigan Tax Tribunal to see if the claim has merit, according to Fraser City Attorney Donald DeNault.
Pradeep Korgavkar owns the building that Turn-Tech Inc. is housed in. Korgavkar and Turn-Tech’s Brian Johnson protested their share of payment for the SAD because the road in front of their business is drivable. Their share of the SAD would be $32,250.
“The area in front of our business is 90% good, there’s very little damage to what’s in front of our building,” Johnson said.
Korgavkar spoke about the impacts to the business in his building.
“Looking outside of the window, I have a hard time understanding why am I paying $32,000, first of all. Secondly, the business we are in is not in a position to take the additional burden of $32,000,” Korgavkar said.
Bulldog Records Management’s Founder and President Stephen Insardi disputed his share of the district, which is $70,029. He disagreed about the calculation for his property compared to his neighbor, which he said has the same front footage on the industrial park road to be improved.
“I’m not asking for special treatment from this board. I’m asking for fair treatment from this board,” Insardi said.
Vigneron said the calculation was done to keep things fair. He said the “front yard,” which was used to determine the front footage assessed, is a zoning term and not literally the front yard of the property.
“We worked with the assessor to determine an equitable way to share the assessment amongst all the properties,” Vigneron said following the meeting. “The accessible front footage was determined to be the appropriate method based on her recommendation. The assessable front footage doesn’t always correspond with every property to their actual frontage on the roads that are being considered for improvement. In some instances, it was a different dimension, but it was an effort to provide a representative way to assess all the properties in the district in an equitable fashion.”
“Logically, as a taxpayer, I would be in his position saying why am I paying two and a half times what my neighbor is,” Lesich said about the assessment of Insardi’s property.
Mayor Pro Tem Dana Sutherland was concerned about changing the assessment rules for one property and then having more owners coming forward for a more favorable assessment.
“I just want to make sure that it’s not getting misconstrued, the rules were applied consistently and accurately,” she said.
While all of the owners present agreed the improvements were needed, there was disagreement about how the improvements were being done. Aside from those who protested the assessment, six other representatives came to the microphone to either ask questions about the process or to speak to the burdens an additional tax would have on businesses.
Tom Monroe, owner of FluidCut Water Jet Cutting Services, reluctantly agreed with the assessed amount, but encouraged the city to look for additional funding sources or to find a way to lessen the impact on businesses in the park.
“It’s quite impressive the amount of money you guys have found for us but maybe looking a little more and checking a few more places might help the burden,” Monroe said.
The city had applied for additional funds from the federal government, through U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township. While there is no update, Councilwoman Patrice Schornak encouraged business owners to call lawmakers and advocate for the funding.
“We’re supposed to be all doing this together and if we’re going to do it together the more people who poke the bear the more likely we are to be heard,” Schornak said.
Later in the meeting, Lesich explained the tax roll needed to be established and the project needed to be worked on in this timeframe to maximize state funding.
“This takes that $4 million and spreads it evenly across that park,” Lesich said.
The City Council ultimately moved the project forward with two motions. It first passed a resolution to affirm the SAD tax roll. All council members except Councilman Kenny Perry voted in favor of this item. Council members then unanimously approved a resolution with intent to issue bonds to fund a portion of the project.
Roads to be improved in the industrial park include Malyn Boulevard, Commerce Road, Riviera Drive, Doreka Drive, James P. Pompo Drive, Cross Drive, Mike C. Court, Vermander Drive and Bennett Drive.